SAN ANTONIO — A Bexar County woman has been sentenced to 25 years in prison after she was convicted Wednesday of starving and abusing her 4-year-old stepson who died in the summer of 2021.
Miranda Casarez was convicted of injury to a child-serious bodily injury after Benjamin Cervera died on August 18, 2021. She faced the possibility of life in prison.
Benjamin was initially brought to the children's hospital earlier on that day, which is when a nurse called police to report "injuries that seemed suspicious," according to arrest documents. Benjamin was found to have bruises "on multiple areas of his body in various stages of healing," and he also appeared undernourished and underweight.
Investigators then turned to Casarez and the boy's father, Brandon Cervera. They reportedly found incriminating videos on Casarez's phone showing Benjamin being forced to drink hand sanitizer, asking for water, and begging for food only to be denied and instead "made to eat bread crumbs off the bathroom floor without the use of his hands." Photos of the boy's injuries were also found.
Documents state a doctor later determined the child died of starvation.
Brandon Cervera, meanwhile, is next due in court on May 2.
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